The Southern SunThe Official Newsletter of CA Southern Section FBLA

Summer 2009 Issue IV - Page 1

By Erik NguyenPresident

A Message From the President

Welcome to the 2009-2010 year! As many of you might be aware, the past year was Mrs. Danielle Tuason’s last as our Southern Sec-tion Adviser. Although her leave has been a sorrowful departure, I have a feeling the new 2009 South-ern Section Management Team and Section Officers will create a last-ing legacy for a spectacular year.

Recently, California section of-ficers from the six sections met in Williams for the annual California FBLA State Leadership Summit. During the 4-day event, section officers set some amazing goals for the upcoming year. Building off last year’s section team, we in paricular focused on not only keep-ing communication with chapters, but also helping them keep in con-

tact with one oth-er. Networking will be a tremen-dous goal, an ob-jective that will be reiterated through-out the year. We also hope to drive Southern Section’s com-petitive edge by stimulating chap-ters to do more State Projects and increase m e m b e r s h i p .

But the most important part to remember is to en-joy the FBLA ex-perience. Placing in competitions is commendable, but chances are, years from now, the most treasured adventures will be the memories of

the people you meet and the places you traveled. Start fueling your future today by making every-thing you do in FBLA memorable.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL RYLAARSDAM

Summer Leadership Summit Professional Snapshot Back row (left to right) - Samuel Yun, Erik Nguyen, Raymond Lee; Front row (left to right) - C.C. Gong, Emily Tian, Judy Park

southernpresident@cafbla.org

Welcome to the FBLA community, and fuel your future!

President: Erik Nguyen

Oxford AcademyBackground

Senior; loves video games,

comics, Trans-former action

figures, money; eccentric and

loud yet a self-motivated FBLA

fanatic

2009-2010 FBLA Southern Section Officer Introductions

Vice President: Raymond Lee

Sunny Hills HSBackground

Senior; loves networking, Ko-

rean BBQ , tacos; spontaneous,

versatile, ostensi-bly intimidating but possesses a personal touch

with people

Secretary/Treas-urer: Judy Park

Oxford AcademyBackground

Senior; loves dancing, So You Think You Can Dance, singing,

green tea ice cream, coffee;

dynamic, hard-working and a

little dorky

Public Relations Officer: Emily Tian

University HSBackground

Senior; loves cookbook recipes,

jogging, Italian food, Calvin &

Hobbes, Jane Austen, The

Onion; diligent, super-energetic

perfectionist

Parliamentarian: Samuel YunWarren HS

BackgroundSenior; loves

SoBe Lifewater, Samsung prod-ucts, musician

Vanishing Red, free tacos from

Jack in the Box; studious and

friendly

Partner w/ Lead-er: C.C. Gong

Troy HSBackground

Junior; loves ten-nis, photography,

traveling, movies, have fun, friends, pizookies, FBLA,

new experi-ences; caring and optimistic with a

blend of ambition PHOTOS COMPILED BY ERIK NGUYEN

Summer 2009 Issue IV - Page 2

Why Join FBLA?The ultimate mix of busi-ness, awards and fun

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is a nation-wide network of students with the same interests and goals, the biggest student business organi-zation in the world committed to preparing students for success in business leadership. Person-ally, I have transformed into the stronger, more ambitious per-son I am today thanks to FBLA.

FBLA holds numerous leader-ship conferences throughout the year that are informative and fun, because you get to network with people from across the United States. The innovative workshops teach everything from public speak-ing skills to the perfect resume to SAT prep. You can also compete in any of the over sixty competitions in various aspects of business in-cluding business management and computer skills. If you excel at the local and state levels, you may have the opportunity to win large mon-etary rewards, glorify your elegant trophies and attend the national conference held at a different loca-tion in the United States each year.

FBLA is also renowned for its well-roundedness: the plethora of community service projects, for example, builds character and broadens a member’s world view. FBLA provides so many oppor-tunities in leadership, business, community service, networking and competitions. What you gain through FBLA are not only fun-damental skills and knowledge guaranteed success, but also the motivation to take control of your future. Remember, fuel your fu-ture, and join FBLA to take the leap towards a brighter future!

By C.C. GongPartner w/ Leaders

How To Maintain a Local FBLA ChapterRead these tips to learn about the FBLA experienceBy Raymond Lee and Emily TianVice President & Public Relations

OfficerIf your school is not a FBLA

powerhouse, your chapter is on the same boat as most of the other divisions. It is not easy to get students to attend gen-eral meetings throughout the year, not to mention recruiting prospective members and ap-pealing to their interests. This is where you make these students feel integrated in the organiza-tion and work to reap its rewards.

At my local chapter in Sunny Hills High School, students must attend a certain number of meet-ings and school congregations to attend an event. In addition, they must come themselves to person-ally sign-in. But keep in mind that regulators are not tyrants. You must respect members’ other

activities and priorities as well. However, most importantly, you

want members to feel comfortable in the organization. Create socials and educational events for mem-bers and the cabinet to get to know one other--ice cream socials, pic-nics, guest speaker series, business tours, FBLA state projects, com-petitions. Once the organization is tied to memorable experiences, people are more likely to come, not alone but with their friends. At all times, however, be sure to ad-dress the situations when students are to act professionally and ma-turely. FBLA is not and should not be purely a party group, though fun is still a definite ingredient. With enough experience with the organization, FBLA will eventu-ally hold its place at your school.

southernvp@cafbla.orgsouthernpr@cafbla.org

The annual Officer/Adviser Training Day (OAT Day) took place at Fullerton’s Craig Regional Park on Saturday, June 13. Despite the early event, the turnout was satsifying: 83students from ten different schools. The day began with an opening cer-emony filled with introductions of the new officers, a noisy roll call of the chapters and a moment of silence for the late Ms. Van Hunnick. Af-ter the opening ceremony, the advisers partook in their own meeting as the officers were divided into six groups that rotated within workshops designed to provide vital information for the upcoming year. The work-shops included Gold Seal, Chapter/Individual Projects, State Projects, Competitions, Membership/Fundraising, and the Year-At-A-Glance.

But the venue would not have been a park if there weren’t to be tons of games! After each workshop, Emily and Jackie led us in games filled with popping balloons, running, acting (in the case of charades) and rather scarily charging towards people with certain characteristics. Afterwards, the officers divided into position-specific meetings for focused discussions and Q&A. The day ended with an intense dogeball game, inter-chapter socializing, and a long awaited dinner. Hopefully the event helped the advisers and the officers form both friendships and ideas, just as the section officers had aimed.

2009 OAT Day RecapEarly event encourages chapters to lead active roles

southernsectreas@cafbla.org

By Judy Park - Secretary/Treasurer